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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. swing — in golf
  5. press — newspapers
  6. snap — to click
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rash — a series
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. press — to push
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rash — hasty
  22. swing — music
  23. game — a match
  24. mouse — for a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com